SLIDESHOW: K-9 Comfort dogs help with healing in Newtown, Conn.

Amidst the paralyzing grief following the Newtown, Conn., elementary school shooting, a team of golden retrievers is on site to comfort, be present and listen.

K-9 Comfort Dog, Addie, sits with children in Newtown, Conn. The team was used during grief counseling sessions and to ease the tension and anxiety many felt after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary Dec. 14, 2012, that left 20 children and six of the school's teachers, administrators and counselors dead.

Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Comfort dogs and their handlers stand in the middle of the Newtown High School gymnasium for a school assembly the morning students returned to school after the shootings. The team arrived the day after the tragedy and remain now months after at the request of the community and school district.

Newtown High School counselor Deidre Croce wraps her arms around comfort dog-in-training, Isaiah, who was brought as a treat to those who visited the dogs. Croce jumped at the chance to have the dogs present during the community's grieving process.